Decay of trefoil and other magnetic knots

Two setups with interlocked magnetic flux tubes are used to study the evolution of magnetic energy and helicity on magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) systems like plasmas. In one setup the initial helicity is zero while in the other it is finite. To see if it is the actual linking or merely the helicity co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union 2010-09, Vol.6 (S274), p.461-463
Main Authors: Candelaresi, Simon, Del Sordo, Fabio, Brandenburg, Axel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Contributed Papers
Fluid mechanics
Magnetic fields
Plasma
Solar physics
Sun
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Summary:Two setups with interlocked magnetic flux tubes are used to study the evolution of magnetic energy and helicity on magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) systems like plasmas. In one setup the initial helicity is zero while in the other it is finite. To see if it is the actual linking or merely the helicity content that influences the dynamics of the system we also consider a setup with unlinked field lines as well as a field configuration in the shape of a trefoil knot. For helical systems the decay of magnetic energy is slowed down by the helicity which decays slowly. It turns out that it is the helicity content, rather than the actual linking, that is significant for the dynamics.
ISSN:1743-9213
1743-9221
DOI:10.1017/S1743921311007496